After arriving in Rangiroa we decided to book tours just in case they were cancelled because of weather. This would give us a better chance to see the sights.
The first tour was the Blue Lagoon/ Reef Island full day tour that left at 8:00AM returning at 5:00PM. We got on the boat and headed out.
It took about 45 minutes to our first stop, Bird Island. We had a chance to snorkel.
The water clarity was a disappointment. It was turbid with limited visibility. We did get some pictures
Coral heads.
After 30 minutes or so of snorkeling, we headed out. There are a lot of small motus that make up the reef.
We arrived at the Blue Lagoon. We had to walk to shore from the boat.
It was beautiful.
One perfect vista after another.
Some interesting fish in the water, black tip reef sharks. They are mostly docile. Leave them alone, they don’t consider you lunch.
Despite the beautiful day, a storm blew in and we got some rain.
The guides cooked us a barbeque lunch.
They made coconut bread, a wonderful smoky coconut flavor.
As we ate storm blew over.
We had a chance to snorkel after lunch. I was hoping to get closer to the sharks but they stayed away.
The coral heads were nice but not a lot of fish.
Here’s a different view of the coral.
After lunch we headed back to the boat to go to Reef Island.
Reef Island actually is part of the reef that protects the lagoon. The atolls are remnants of very ancient volcanoes. Over uncountable millennia the ocean has worn away leaving the remnants to protect the lagoon. When we arrived we were greeted by one of the motu’s residents.
The island was beautiful. The back of the island was the reef. We had to walk about a kilometer to the other side of the island.
This was not a River. It is sea water that has come over the reef forming a salt water river. We followed it to the
The walk would have been impossible without water shoes.
I love the shape of this rock. It reminds me of a whale’s fluke.
Weave our way back to the boat and headed to The Aquarium. It’s at the mouth of the Avatoru channel near the hotel. It took over an hour to get back.
The Aquarium is a relatively shallow reef just inside the lagoon. The tides constantly flush the area twice a day bringing in fresh sea water. Even so, it was disappointingly turbid. I did get some good shots of coral and fish.
They call snorkeling a sport. You lie face down in the water, don’t move a muscle and they still call it a sport.
We headed into the channel to see if we could spot any dolphins. No dolphins but very dangerous water. I would have felt safer with a life jacket.
We headed back to the hotel, tired after a long day. We wanted to go to Pink Sand Beach but the hotel wasn’t offering a tour. We asked the guides if they would take us out. There were two girls who were leaving the next day who wanted to go. So, we arranged a private tour with them for the next day.